R. Soriano, Fielder, Kemp mentioned in connection w/ Sox

[caulfield12]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-h...vepreview102510

 

Dunn, of course....could be back in play if we actually had any money to spend.

 

Seems pretty likely that the Tigers are going to be another force to be reckoned with this off-season.

 

Can't imagine the Sox making a $10 million + closer out of Soriano...it has never been their style, with the one year exception of the Koch trade.

 

 

No mention of Konerko.

[Quin]

I want all 3 + Kong.

 

But in reality, I see none of those happening.

 

Soriano would cost a pick while being insanely expensive, we don't have the bullets for Fielder without Hudson (who Milwaukee wouldn't take until he was in the NL anyway), and Kemp is a right handed, bad defensive right fielder, which I hope we try to get away from.

Edited October 27, 2010 by Quinarvy

[caulfield12]

Yeah, the only one you see as being remotely realistic is Kemp, simply because he's the typical "buy low/temporarily undervalued" player that KW usually goes after...except the problem is that the chemistry/mix is always questionable when you don't have enough homegrown players who came up learning the same system or style like the Twins/Rays/Rangers now have in place.

 

It's logical enough to imagine Quentin at DH, Viciedo at 1B and Kemp in RF...which means it's probably unlikely to transpire. Except for that small little factor of not having the type of players in our minor league system capable of fetching a Kemp or Upton, even at reduced rates.

 

That's also where you have to start bringing Danks or Floyd into conversations...and also where you give up the one position of strength you have.

 

[Balta1701]

It's logical enough to imagine Quentin at DH, Viciedo at 1B and Kemp in RF...which means it's probably unlikely to transpire. Except for that small little factor of not having the type of players in our minor league system capable of fetching a Kemp or Upton, even at reduced rates.

The big problem with that as written is that it's vastly RH heavy. Even though Quentin has tended to hit righties better than lefties, there's still zero balance to the middle of that order. Then you throw in Alexei and Beckham, maybe a Morel sighting...now Juan Pierre is our only obvious LH bat even on a good day unless we bring (back) a LH catcher.

[NorthSideSox72]

Detroit a force? I really doubt it. They have been heading downhill, they have far less money to spend than the Sox do, and I don't see them turning things around yet. Them and Cleveland are falling down, not coming up.

 

[Balta1701]

Detroit a force? I really doubt it. They have been heading downhill, they have far less money to spend than the Sox do, and I don't see them turning things around yet. Them and Cleveland are falling down, not coming up.

I can see how it might be the case that they have far less money to spend than the Sox do...but I can also argue the reverse. Detroit's salary has been well above that of the Sox the last couple seasons, and they have enormous bad contracts coming off the books this season (Ordonez, Bonderman, Willis). If Detroit goes into next season at the same salary level they started this season with, they'll be competing with the Yankees for both Lee and Crawford.

 

I don't know how you keep a $130 million payroll in Detroit these days...but they've averaged over $125 the last 3 years. They might well have a fortune to spend.

[NorthSideSox72]

I can see how it might be the case that they have far less money to spend than the Sox do...but I can also argue the reverse. Detroit's salary has been well above that of the Sox the last couple seasons, and they have enormous bad contracts coming off the books this season (Ordonez, Bonderman, Willis). If Detroit goes into next season at the same salary level they started this season with, they'll be competing with the Yankees for both Lee and Crawford.

 

I don't know how you keep a $130 million payroll in Detroit these days...but they've averaged over $125 the last 3 years. They might well have a fortune to spend.

Its been made clear for the past couple years, Detroit's season ticket holder base has collapsed in an epic way, and they are cutting, cutting, cutting. They aren't spending that kind of money for 2011, I'll bet the farm on that.

 

[maggsmaggs]

To me it's simple, if we re-sign Konerko, we will be bargain shopping the rest of our need positions. If we lose Konerko, we will get a dabble with some big names, but lose out when we offer half of another team and then be forced to bargain shop. Regardless, we will be bargain shopping, but whether it's be force or choice remains to be seen. I don't feel like we need a huge overhaul as well, but we need about 4-5 solid players to get back to a playoff team. Obviously power at 1st base, two relievers and some two solid bench additions.

[Balta1701]

Its been made clear for the past couple years, Detroit's season ticket holder base has collapsed in an epic way, and they are cutting, cutting, cutting. They aren't spending that kind of money for 2011, I'll bet the farm on that.

Well, their commitments right now are about $55 million according to Cot's. They could cut back significantly and still find room for some big signings. Having a couple guys really step up last year (Boesch, Jackson, Scherzer) could make things a lot easier for them. They definitely need pitching help though.

[3E8]

Mike Ilitch is one of the richest Americans, worth nearly 2 billion. The Tigers have the ammo if they choose to use it, they do not have "far less" to spend than the White Sox

[SoxFan1]

Mike Ilitch is one of the richest Americans, worth nearly 2 billion. The Tigers have the ammo if they choose to use it, they do not have "far less" to spend than the White Sox

Exactly. Illitch will spend as much as his heart desires, he always has. The only question is will his recent purchase of the Pistons affect his spending. I say probably not.

[macsandz]

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-h...vepreview102510

 

Dunn, of course....could be back in play if we actually had any money to spend.

 

The Sox have plenty of money to spend. Especially if PK is off the books.

[RockRaines]

I am familiar with Kemp being a bad defensive CF'er, but not really clear on why he is being called bad in RF.

[bschmaranz]

ESPN the Mag mentioned Soriano as a White Sox target as well.

 

All I can say is, yes please on all three of these fellows.

[Milkman delivers]

To me it's simple, if we re-sign Konerko, we will be bargain shopping the rest of our need positions. If we lose Konerko, we will get a dabble with some big names, but lose out when we offer half of another team and then be forced to bargain shop. Regardless, we will be bargain shopping, but whether it's be force or choice remains to be seen. I don't feel like we need a huge overhaul as well, but we need about 4-5 solid players to get back to a playoff team. Obviously power at 1st base, two relievers and some two solid bench additions.

 

I agree with everything you said, except I do think we need an overhaul.

[Milkman delivers]

Exactly. Illitch will spend as much as his heart desires, he always has. The only question is will his recent purchase of the Pistons affect his spending. I say probably not.

 

He owns the Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings? Wow, that's crazy.

[southsider2k5]

He owns the Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings? Wow, that's crazy.

 

And he is probably losing assloads of money on two of the three. I'd bet at least $50 million for the last season.

[3E8]

The Sox have plenty of money to spend. Especially if PK is off the books.

Unless we move one of our higher paid players in a trade, this isn't really the case. The Sox policy is well-known, put into the team what was gained the previous year. We should expect '11 salary to remain similar to '10 ($103M) after a decline in attendance. I'll fill in the '11 roster as of today with salaries

 

SP - Peavy 16

SP - Buehrle 14

SP - Jackson 8.75

SP - Danks 6.5 (arb estimate)

SP - Floyd 5

 

C - empty

1B - empty

2B - Beckham 0.5

SS - Ramirez 1.225

3B - Morel 0.3

LF - Pierre 5 (after cash from LA)

CF - Rios 12.5

RF - empty

DH - empty

 

BP - Thornton 3

BP - Santos 0.4

BP - Sale 0.3

BP - Linebrink 5.5

BP - empty

BP - emtpy

BP - empty

 

BN - Castro 1.2

BN - Teahen 4.75

BN - empty

BN - empty

 

2.25 commitment to Viciedo

 

Total = $87M

 

This leaves us less than $20M to fill starting catcher, 1B, DH, RF, three pen spots, and two bench spots. That's an average of $2M/year per remaining roster spot. If you tender a contract to Quentin, who get $5M in his 2nd-year arbitration raise, then you have less than $15M for 8 remaining spots, or less than $2M/year per remaining roster spot. KW is definitely in a tough spot this offseason given how many roster spots we have to fill and our budget constraints. We do not have plenty of money to spend, we have plenty of spots to fill

[striker]

Unless we move one of our higher paid players in a trade, this isn't really the case. The Sox policy is well-known, put into the team what was gained the previous year. We should expect '11 salary to remain similar to '10 ($103M) after a decline in attendance. I'll fill in the '11 roster as of today with salaries

 

SP - Peavy 16

SP - Buehrle 14

SP - Jackson 8.75

SP - Danks 6.5 (arb estimate)

SP - Floyd 5

 

C - empty

1B - empty

2B - Beckham 0.5

SS - Ramirez 1.225

3B - Morel 0.3

LF - Pierre 5 (after cash from LA)

CF - Rios 12.5

RF - empty

DH - empty

 

BP - Thornton 3

BP - Santos 0.4

BP - Sale 0.3

BP - Linebrink 5.5

BP - empty

BP - emtpy

BP - empty

 

BN - Castro 1.2

BN - Teahen 4.75

BN - empty

BN - empty

 

2.25 commitment to Viciedo

 

Total = $87M

 

This leaves us less than $20M to fill starting catcher, 1B, DH, RF, three pen spots, and two bench spots. That's an average of $2M/year per remaining roster spot. If you tender a contract to Quentin, who get $5M in his 2nd-year arbitration raise, then you have less than $15M for 8 remaining spots, or less than $2M/year per remaining roster spot. KW is definitely in a tough spot this offseason given how many roster spots we have to fill and our budget constraints. We do not have plenty of money to spend, we have plenty of spots to fill

He could back load contracts. Buehrle is coming off the books next year and Peavy the following. That's about 1/3 of our payroll. This is the approach the government would make

[Buehrlesque]

Unless we move one of our higher paid players in a trade, this isn't really the case. The Sox policy is well-known, put into the team what was gained the previous year. We should expect '11 salary to remain similar to '10 ($103M) after a decline in attendance. I'll fill in the '11 roster as of today with salaries

 

SP - Peavy 16

SP - Buehrle 14

SP - Jackson 8.75

SP - Danks 6.5 (arb estimate)

SP - Floyd 5

 

C - empty

1B - empty

2B - Beckham 0.5

SS - Ramirez 1.225

3B - Morel 0.3

LF - Pierre 5 (after cash from LA)

CF - Rios 12.5

RF - empty

DH - empty

 

BP - Thornton 3

BP - Santos 0.4

BP - Sale 0.3

BP - Linebrink 5.5

BP - empty

BP - emtpy

BP - empty

 

BN - Castro 1.2

BN - Teahen 4.75

BN - empty

BN - empty

 

2.25 commitment to Viciedo

 

Total = $87M

 

This leaves us less than $20M to fill starting catcher, 1B, DH, RF, three pen spots, and two bench spots. That's an average of $2M/year per remaining roster spot. If you tender a contract to Quentin, who get $5M in his 2nd-year arbitration raise, then you have less than $15M for 8 remaining spots, or less than $2M/year per remaining roster spot. KW is definitely in a tough spot this offseason given how many roster spots we have to fill and our budget constraints. We do not have plenty of money to spend, we have plenty of spots to fill

Great post to sum it up! If the Sox bring back Konerko at about $11-12mil, Quentin at $5 mil and Pierzynski at $3-4 mil, all of which I think they'd like to do, that leaves almost literally nothing to spend anywhere else. So either a.) one of those three players aren't coming back, b.) someone else with a significant contract is traded (Danks, Floyd, etc.) or c.) this team won't improve much on paper for 2011.

 

[3E8]

Severely backloading a contract is a risky practice because we don't know exactly what our financial situation will be 2-3 years from now. And yes, you have Buehrle's 14M coming off the books in 2012, but we of course will have more holes to fill at that time as well. As it stands now, in 2012 we have $42M committed to just four roster spots between Peavy, Rios, Floyd, and Teahen

[Milkman delivers]

Unless we move one of our higher paid players in a trade, this isn't really the case. The Sox policy is well-known, put into the team what was gained the previous year. We should expect '11 salary to remain similar to '10 ($103M) after a decline in attendance. I'll fill in the '11 roster as of today with salaries

 

SP - Peavy 16

SP - Buehrle 14

SP - Jackson 8.75

SP - Danks 6.5 (arb estimate)

SP - Floyd 5

 

C - empty

1B - empty

2B - Beckham 0.5

SS - Ramirez 1.225

3B - Morel 0.3

LF - Pierre 5 (after cash from LA)

CF - Rios 12.5

RF - empty

DH - empty

 

BP - Thornton 3

BP - Santos 0.4

BP - Sale 0.3

BP - Linebrink 5.5

BP - empty

BP - emtpy

BP - empty

 

BN - Castro 1.2

BN - Teahen 4.75

BN - empty

BN - empty

 

2.25 commitment to Viciedo

 

Total = $87M

 

This leaves us less than $20M to fill starting catcher, 1B, DH, RF, three pen spots, and two bench spots. That's an average of $2M/year per remaining roster spot. If you tender a contract to Quentin, who get $5M in his 2nd-year arbitration raise, then you have less than $15M for 8 remaining spots, or less than $2M/year per remaining roster spot. KW is definitely in a tough spot this offseason given how many roster spots we have to fill and our budget constraints. We do not have plenty of money to spend, we have plenty of spots to fill

 

How very depressing.

 

And he is probably losing assloads of money on two of the three. I'd bet at least $50 million for the last season.

 

He's a billionaire and 81-years-old. I don't think that would even matter to him.

[NorthSideSox72]

Mike Ilitch is one of the richest Americans, worth nearly 2 billion. The Tigers have the ammo if they choose to use it, they do not have "far less" to spend than the White Sox

 

 

Exactly. Illitch will spend as much as his heart desires, he always has. The only question is will his recent purchase of the Pistons affect his spending. I say probably not.

 

People here tend to think that a person's high net worth means that they can, or will, spend a ton of money. First of all, a big part of Illitch's net worth is tied up in corporations - and therefore not highly liquid, or even usable in the way you describe. Second, if you read articles the past year or two, the Tigers have made clear they are losing more and more money on the Tigers and won't be spending tons of money. Being rich doesn't mean you have a ton of money to spend, and even if you do, you may not want to.

 

[Balta1701]

People here tend to think that a person's high net worth means that they can, or will, spend a ton of money. First of all, a big part of Illitch's net worth is tied up in corporations - and therefore not highly liquid, or even usable in the way you describe. Second, if you read articles the past year or two, the Tigers have made clear they are losing more and more money on the Tigers and won't be spending tons of money. Being rich doesn't mean you have a ton of money to spend, and even if you do, you may not want to.

The question is gonna be how they define tons of money. They could legitimately cull $30 million from their payroll next year and still make winning offers on Crawford, Lee, and enough filler to round out a roster.

[NorthSideSox72]

The question is gonna be how they define tons of money. They could legitimately cull $30 million from their payroll next year and still make winning offers on Crawford, Lee, and enough filler to round out a roster.

I'd be shocked if they add the $45M in payroll you are suggesting.

 

I could be wrong, we'll see in April.